The Gustavus Forensics team traveled to Kearney, Neb. April 2-4 to compete in the American Forensic Association’s National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET). Last year, the team competed in the same tournament and earned its first ever top 10 national ranking. With the help of Chloe Radcliffe’s individual championship, the first ever earned by a Gustavus competitor, the team took 152.5 points to claim 10th place for the second consecutive year.

“It’s really satisfying to be able to compete [with] and beat some of the largest universities in the country,” Radcliffe, a senior theatre and math major, said. Other colleges that placed in the top ten included the University of Alabama, George Mason University and first-place Western Kentucky University. Since its initial top 20 placing in 2007, Gustavus is the only non-Division I school to be ranked in the top 20 each year since then.

Radcliffe achieved personal success and a new distinction for Gustavus by taking her Prose piece to the national finals and winning first place. She is the first Gustavus student to become an AFA-NEIT champion.

“The fact that we have a national championship under our belt, we are proving ourselves as a team. We are as good as anybody in the country, we are good enough to compete with the best and we deserve to be up on that stage for every award ceremony,” Radcliffe said.

Gustavus Senior Communication Studies Honors and History Major Phil Helt also achieved individual distinction by being named to the AFA-NEIT All-American Team. He is the fourth Gustavus student to have received the honor. Helt reached the quarterfinals with his Impromptu Speaking piece, and the semifinals with his Persuasion piece.